Sour but Sweet

Even though the class was 6 people lighter it never got any better. Basically I weeded out the naiveté of the bunch. I started to show my documentary footage of my Obstacle Courses. A woman in the back said, “please stop the DVD it is making me sick”. I turned on the lights and asked if it was because the screen was flashing between scenes (I tend to use “white flashes” between cuts if I am removing uninteresting or lengthy footage) or if the projector refresh rate needed to be adjusted (Some people are photosensitive. For them, flashing lights or flickering images can trigger seizures or create patterns on the electroencephalogram (EEG) that are typical of epilepsy).

She said, “No, it’s making me sick that you are doing that to animals”. At that point I lost it. I said, “Why did you come?!?! The class was called squirrels and how they conquer obstacles”. She replied, “you are exploiting them, you are no better than beekeepers”. Shaking my head, I took the DVD out from my player and started packing up. Then I asked, “how do they exploit them?” The young women said, “The honey that bees make is for their own purposes. When we remove honey from the hive, we take something that is not rightfully ours. Plus to get it, beekeepers must remove bees from their homes. We cannot avoid squashing, or otherwise killing some of the bees. The vegan position on honey is definitive” I asked, “you’re a vegan?” She continued, “Yes, Yes, I am, and additionally Honey was prohibited for use by vegans according to the 1944 manifesto of the British Vegan Society, a position consistent with the requirement for full membership in the American Vegan Society since its inception in 1960.” With my hands hold my head I said, “You guys have a manifesto, actually I don’t care... it’s time for lunch.”

** After Lunch **

Miss Thing walks in eating Chicken McNuggets (ironic since we are at a bird enthusiast gathering) I say, “Hey?! Look what you’re eating!!!” She says extremely seriously, “This is not sweet and sour sauce; there is no honey in this! Hello? It’s BBQ!” I said, “I’m sorry I didn’t hear what you said I was admiring your gorgeous leather purse.”